Serotek is proud to announce the launuch of the all new SAMNet Radio, your portal to all the great past, present and future podcasts and interviews on the newly launched SeroTalk Podcast Network. We begin with coverage from the 2011 NFB Convention in Orlando Florida. Listen now and please share this link with all your friends, family members and interested persons.
Click Here to Listen to 2011 Convention Coverage on the All New SAMNet Radio!
Thanks and Enjoy!
The Serotek Team
It's convention time again, and as always you can expect SeroTalk to bring you quality coverage from the NFB and ACB show floors. If you're attending one or both of the conventions this year, Serotek has a number of exciting things in store for you.
First, if you'd like the opportunity to meet staff members and ask questions about Serotek products and services, Mike Calvo and Joe Steinkamp will be on hand at the A T Guys booth A1 at the NFB convention. You can catch Mike and Joe on July 5 between 10 AM and 12 PM, or on July 6 from 12 PM to 1:45 PM. While you're there, don't forget to ask The A T Guys about tactile screen protectors for your iPhone, the iBill Bank Note Identifier and the affordable, customized bar code scanner which recognizes millions of items and can even interface with the popular Directions For Me web site.
When you're done in the exhibit hall, you won't want to miss the NFB in computer Science meeting from 12:30 PM to 5 PM in Wekiwa 6, Level 2. Mike Calvo and Joe Steinkamp will present "A View from The cloud: Tales of a Multiplatform world" beginning at 3:20 PM. You might also be the lucky winner of a prize package donated to the group by Serotek, which includes a copy of the System Access Mobile screen reader and three months of access to the Remote Incident Manager allowing blind IT professionals and trainers to remotely access an end user's computer. If you're attending the ACB convention, you'll also have a shot at this package as you check out the fantastic program organized by the Blind Information Technology Specialists (BITS) group. You won't want to miss Michael Lauf as he presents "accessible Cloud Computing for Consumers and IT Professionals", beginning at 2:45 PM on July 11 in So Pac E.
Are you a blind student? Both the NFB and ACB conventions have student organizations which are well worth investigating. At NFB, check out the National Association of Blind Students and at ACB, check out the National Alliance of Blind Students. Both these organizations have received a prize package from Serotek which includes a copy of the System Access Mobile screen reader and a copy of DocuScan Plus, Serotek's cloud solution for converting printed materials to text on both Windows and Mac. If you're a senior, this year's conventions have something special for you as well. At the NFB, you can get involved in the NFB Seniors Division, and at ACB, you can get involved with the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss. In both these groups, you'll have a chance to win a prize package from Serotek including The System Access Mobile screen reader, a year of access to the SAMNet online community, and a copy of the Neospeech VoiceText speech engine.
Convention coverage will be presented by Serotalk from both the show floors, and you can always hear the latest by visiting www.serotalk.com or better yet, use the iBlink Radio app on your Android or iOS device.
When it comes to convention coverage, we don't just want to hear our own voices. We want to hear yours, too. Whether you're at NFB, ACB or Sight Village, we want to hear your reports on what's hot, what's not, and what's just plain interesting. You can send your written or prerecorded submissions to resources@serotalk.com. Don't have any fancy recording equipment? Do you wish you could just leave an on-location message for us right from your phone? You can! Check the iBlink Radio app for your Android or iOS device for details.
Whether you're taking part this year from your home or from the show floor, we wish you a safe and fun convention experience.
The Serotek Team
While this is a personal post and I don’t make it a habit to get on my personal soapbox on this blog, I think that the issues covered in the email are relevant to Serotek’s mission of providing and advocating for
“Accessibility Anywhere.”
Below is a letter submitted to the IPad Today show on the Twit Netcast Network. It frustrates me that even so called “geeks” don’t understand how important accessibility is in both software and on the web. What do you think of this letter? Please post your comments so perhaps someone will read them and really know that accessibility isn’t just a law but that it really does allow us as a market to enjoy the same level of access to products and services that our sighted peers enjoy and take for granted.
From:
Mike Calvo
To:
ipadtoday@twit.tv
Subject:
Program 51 Advocates for Universal Design … for Once
Hello Leo and Sarah,
I’ve been a long-time listener of The Twit Network and iPad today, and have
always been impressed with the insightful commentary you both consistently
provide on the show. I was very excited to hear your thoughts on HTML 5 on the
show which aired on June 23. As the CEO of an assistive technology company providing accessible cloud
services to the blind, I’m a staunch advocate of HTML 5. It allows for
consistent cross-platform design, and has the added benefit of being far more
accessible than other design technologies such as Flash.
I was all set to hear a well-thought-out
and candid discussion of the benefits of HTML 5, so imagine my shock and
surprise when you began discussing the iPad experience for the new Harry
Potter site. You first
lamented the fact that the site displayed on the iPad was a text-only site, which lacked all the appealing features
of the main site. Then, Sarah took things one step further and asked the
developers to: "consider the community with good vision for once!"
Really? Seriously?
Sarah, have you ever been prevented from
conducting legitimate business because of an inability to use a particular
site? Have you ever had to contact a site designer to explain that you wanted
to purchase a business’s products and services but were prevented from doing so
because of a flaw in web design? Have you ever overheard a friend or family
member discussing a particular site, only to realize you couldn’t enjoy that
site yourself, again, because of a flaw in web design? This is the struggle
that the blind community faces on a daily basis. When your entire audience of
web developers, business professionals, and blind and sighted consumers hear
you minimize this struggle with a few snide and ill-considered words, it is
incredibly damaging. With this single statement, you’ve implied that
accessibility may be a headache which some designers have to address, but only
when it doesn’t detract from the experience of the mainstream audience or in
your words "those of us with good vision." What you fail to
understand is that the members of an audience who need accessibility don’t
actually want separate but equal. We want the same bells and whistles that
everyone else enjoys. Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate the consideration when a
site designer at least acknowledges the need for accessibility by providing a
text-only site. With that said, my primary goal is to educate developers that
accessibility doesn’t have to be an afterthought, and can be incorporated quite
easily without adversely impacting anyone else. In fact, when a developer
chooses to use something like HTML 5 over something like Flash, everyone
benefits, including the sighted iPad users like yourself who want a more
compelling experience.
As well-respected tech enthusiasts,
imagine how much you could do to further the education on web accessibility
just by including information like this when you discuss platforms like HTML 5.
Conversely, consider just how damaging it can be when you make statements which
encourage actions which further your own interests while minimizing those of
another population. Would you rather advocate for the continuation of a
separate but equal philosophy, or would you rather advocate for universal design,
"for once?"
--
Mike Calvo CEO
Serotek Corporation
Ph: (612) 246-4818
Fax (612) 643-3483
United Kingdom +44 2080-990685
accessibility anywhere
www.serotek.com
1128 Harmon Place
Suite 310
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Tech Chat 103 covered outdoor activities including boating and fishing with Lawrence Euttenier with
plus biking, hiking and camping with Nolan Derelek with
View Tech Chat 103: The Great Outdoors Via Accessible Event
Listen to MP3 of Tech Chat 103: the Great Outdoors!
Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 25th 2011
The popular iBlink Radio application from
has just gone multiplatform! The world's first application for the visually impaired for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad is now available on the Android Market. Version 1.0 has some features not found on the Apple iOS version that take advantage of the hardware keyboards found on many Google Android handsets.
iBlink Radio offers radio stations, podcasts and reading services of special interest to blind and visually impaired persons; as well as their friends, family, caregivers and those wanting to know what life is like without eyesight. The original release of iBlink Radio has been downloaded thousands of times and it has even been featured on the front page of the iTunes Store.
All stations under Community Radio are owned and/or operated by persons with limited or no eye sight. Genres include oldies, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, alternative, classic Rock, Old Time Radio and more. This is a small sampling of SAMNet, Serotek’s award-winning online community dedicated to promoting the digital lifestyle to its low-vision and blind subscribers.
Reading services provide narration of newspapers, magazines, periodicals and other print publications including: USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and hundreds more.
Podcasts are produced by blind and partially sighted individuals, and cover topics including: broadcasting, computers, radio, technology, Independent Living, Travel, and much more.
“iBlink radio is the premiere application for showcasing content produced by today’s Blind community. At Serotek, we believe that Android has many exciting things in store for us all. It was only logical that we would bring iBlink Radio to one of the fastest growing platforms for handsets and tablets.” said CEO Mike Calvo.
Menu button navigation, Press the Menu Button to shift your focus to the list of items and back to the player. You can use your Directional Pad, or other controls, to move between the Play/Pause and Stop buttons. You can also place your focus into the seek bar for fast forwarding or rewinding of files like Podcasts.
Notification bar support: Simply open the Notification Bar and select the media being played by iBlink radio for easy access to the player when multitasking on your device.
White on black font scheme: For those who are glare sensitive, the default color scheme for common Android menus have been incorporated into this version of iBlink Radio. The benefit of this choice is that this will let some Low vision users see the display better in various lighting conditions.
It's Cinco de Mayo, and our CEO just dashed out the door, frantically mumbling something about margaritas. The Serotek team got together and decided that if the CEO was celebrating, we should all follow his lead. To that end, we've decided to reset all trials of DocuScan Plus, giving you 7 extra days to play. If you have ever had a trial of DocuScan Plus, you'll be able to log in with your account credentials and try out the program again. And if you haven’t tried DocuScan Plus, then now is the perfect time to start with a 7 day free trial of the cross platform phenomenon. That’s right! Windows or Mac, it is time to have a blast with DocuScan Plus. Just don’t tell the boss our little secret, okay?
If you have other Serotek software installed, just choose DocuScan Plus from the System Access menu to get started. If you still have the app on your Mac, launch it and your trial will begin again. If you're using DocuScan Plus as a standalone product on Windows,
just log in with your account credentials at www.docuscanplus.com
If you've never had a DocuScan Plus trial before, you can
visit http://www.docuscanplus.com to create your account and get started.
If you're on the Mac, don't forget to [grab the app from the
Mac App Store.
Enjoy!
The Serotek Team
Looking for a fast and portable image capture solution for use with DocuScan Plus? Serotek now offers the HoverCam T5V document camera for $499. This light and portable document camera is the perfect accessory for scanning printed materials at home or on the go. Weighing just 1.8 pounds and measuring 4.5 inches by 12 inches, this 5-megapixel camera with built-in bright LED lights is the ideal solution for those needing a portable, accurate, and extremely fast scanning device. The camera works on Windows and Mac computers without the need to install additional drivers. Simply plug the camera in to an available USB slot, and you're ready to begin using the device with DocuScan Plus. The camera comes with a slip-resistant mat with tactile markings, ensuring you have the most stable surface for your camera and optimal placement for your printed materials. If you’d like to learn more about the document camera, you may read the help documentation.
If you don’t yet own DocuScan Plus, usable on both Mac and Windows platforms, visit
for more information.
When you’re ready to purchase, simply visit the “my account” section from your Serotek software by pressing modifier+f, followed by the letter A. From here, choose “purchase more products and services”, and choose the HoverCam T5V accessory. You may also call us at (612) 246-4818 and a member of our sales team will be happy to assist you.
The Serotek Team
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